Establishing Your Brand

Brand. We can all agree it is the buzzword in society and culture. All celebrities and public figures – including politicians – strive to have a brand. Companies exist and grow because of the power of the brand. In business meetings, strategy planning, entrepreneurship classes, it’s all about the brand. It even comes up in job hunting – you are a brand that must be sold to any prospective employer.

But how do companies develop a brand?

The first step in developing your brand is determining what your business goals and your market are. Who is your competition? How can you differentiate yourself from your competition? One of the best ways to solve this is by using a SWOT analysis:

Strengths – What is your company’s strength? How can you meet your customer’s or client’s needs better than your competition?

Weaknesses – What puts you at a disadvantage in comparison to your competition? How are they better than you?

Opportunities – What opportunities put you in a position to beat your competition?

Threats – What internal and external threats may harm your company?

The next step is to determine your company’s vision and mission. Your vision statement should answer questions such as:

Where do you want your company to be in five years?

How will your clients/customers describe you?

Why are you unique?

Your mission statement will simply express the purpose of your company and its principles.